


All Roads Lead To You

by tleona1324



Series: Gendrya One Shots and Short Stories [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-05-14 02:07:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19263793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tleona1324/pseuds/tleona1324
Summary: Arya and Gendry are best friends, inseparable, but both of them are harbouring a crush that neither are brave enough to act on. If they don't act soon, they might lose their chance with the other forever. Will one of them ever work up the courage to admit their feelings to each other?





	1. Late As Usual

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic so apologies for any mistakes or any aspects of the story which seem badly written. I am trying and any advice or constructive criticism would be welcome. All rights and charcters belong to G.R.R.Martin, this is simply a fanfic, not an original work, obviously.

The trio sat in their little corner booth, a steadily decreasing pile of nachos in the centre. Smiles were evident on each of their faces as they laughed and talked. They were an odd bunch, consisting of an overweight boy with unruly brown curls, a large muscular boy with jet black hair and intense blue eyes and a smaller girl, minute in comparison to the mountain beside her, with chocolate hair, straight as a pin and steely grey eyes, alight with mirth. She threw her head back letting out a hearty laugh at the fat boy’s words, the loud, unfiltered sound carrying almost obnoxiously across the diner.

“I’m telling you, she seriously called me Hog Pie and then refused to believe that she was wrong, as if I didn’t know my own name!” The fat boy announced before descending into laughter himself. The other two shared a look before bursting into laughter once more.  
“Are you sure she wasn’t just calling you a pig? Oink, oink” teased the muscly one, much to the chagrin of Hot Pie. The girl only laughed impossibly harder, tears of glee streaming down her face. As the group sobered, the girl grabbed hold of the boy on her left’s wrist, yanking it towards her face in order in order to tell the time.  
“Shit Gen, you could have said something, Sansa is going to gut me I’m already late!” However the boy simply rolled his eyes.  
“And what part of that is different from usual? Come on, I’ll drop you round on my way, later Hot Pie” Gendry rose from the booth, nodding at Hot Pie and grabbing the girl’s hand to pull her up with him, who smiled before following him out.

Reaching the old pick up truck, he rushed to the passenger side, opening the door for her, “Milady”.  
“Dickhead,” she replied, shoving him away from the door as she clambered inside, short legs having stretch slightly to step inside. He laughed, striding around the other side and stepping in himself, long legs making the distance seem insignificant. The truck rumbled, shuddering as it came to life.  
“So where is it tonight then, yours or Margaery’s?” He asked, fiddling with the radio until he settled on a channel playing some old Bon Jovi music.  
“It’s at Margaery’s tonight, although I don’t know why they keep inviting me. All they do is talk about boys and clothes and parties and then spend far too much time planning their next shopping trip. I mean, why do you need to plan a shopping trip in so much detail? All you need is to set a time to meet and then walk around buying stuff you like the look of until you get tired and stop for lunch. But then they don’t even do that right and only eat salads ‘cos apparently even one hamburger is too many calories!”  
“You done Arry?” He asked, glancing to the side to see the girls folding her arms over her chest, glaring at a spot on the dashboard. She nodded once, still burning a hole into the dash causing him to grin as he watched her. 

The silence that followed was anything but uncomfortable, both just listening to Avril Lavigne and lost in their own thoughts. Though it wasn’t long before Arya began to shiver, wrapping her flannel tighter around herself and reaching to turn on the heater.  
“It’s broken, sorry” She rolled her eyes and leaned over to grab a spare hoody from the backseat and pull it over her head, the fabric completely enveloping her frame. Turning he laughed and shook his hood, grinning at how she was swallowed by it.  
“What?”  
“It’s just funny is all. I can barely see you in that you’re so tiny.” He smirked, knowing this would rile her.  
“Oh yeah? It’s not my fault you’re such a git big bull,” she snarked indignantly, a scowl reappearing on her face. He only grinned wider in reply, letting out a soft laugh. The old truck then rolled up in front of the Tyrell’s house, or more specifically, mansion. Mr Tyrell, Margaery’s father owned a large banking corporation which had business nationwide, meaning that the family business made him just shy of a billionaire status; the Great Depression could roll around again and Mr Tyrell would still be able to live a life of comfort and luxury. 

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? You’ll come pick me up in the morning?” She asked, grabbing her rucksack and slinging it over her shoulder.  
“Of course milady, good luck in the lion’s den.” He replied, amusement clear on his face as she scoffed, sticking out her middle finger and strode off towards the front door, not bothering to knock as she let herself in. Gendry chuckled quietly to himself before beginning his drive back home. 

As soon as she turned around she new she was in trouble. “And where have you been, young lady? You’re almost 20 minutes late,” Sansa admonished, shaking her head in faux disappointment, “and turning up in the most untrendy clothes known to man, seriously Arya do you own anything without a rip in it?”  
“Jeez Sans, don’t you get it? They’re ripped on purpose, hence the title ‘ripped jeans’, they’re meant to make her look edgy,” Margaery quipped from the sofa, a wry grin on her lips.  
“She’s about as edgy as a sphere, Marg” sarcasm dripping from her melodic voice. Arya only rolled her eyes and traipsed over to the sofa, collapsing into the cushions beside Margaery and putting her worn grey Vans on the coffee table. Sansa handed her a drink before taking another look at her sister’s appearance and realising something was amiss,  
“Who’s hoodie is that? Is it his?” Sansa asked, the intrigue evident on her face. Margaery looked up from her phone at that and even Talisa tuned in at that. Arya had been afraid of this, ever since she had admitted to her secret crush on her long time best friend the girls had been clamouring for her to make a move, insisting that he liked her back and was simply too afraid to make the first move. However Arya knew Gendry better than that, knew that he was confident to the point of cockiness with girls and would flirt shamelessly with any one which caught his eye, knew that this meant she did not stand a chance as she knew his type.

“Yeah, it was cold so I stole it from his truck, no biggie,” Arya shrugged, hating that her pathetic love life, if it could even be called that, was at the centre of attention. As if she needed reminding of that fact.  
“Are you sure? Because I saw him wearing that today? Did he give it to you?” Sansa asked, ever the romantic, searching for a romantic or chivalrous notion behind his actions.  
“Positive, he wasn’t wearing it so I took it off the backseat and put it on. Stop looking so far into everything Sans, you’re trying to spot ulterior motives that simply do not exist. He’s my friend, my best friend, and it’s okay if he doesn’t like me back, I actually quite like it this way, it stops me from fucking up our frindship over some stupid crush.” If she was being honest with herself, which she rarely was when it came to Gendry, she would hear the complete and utter bullshit seeping from those words however she was not, so it was left to Talisa to address the obvious elephant in the room.

“Except it isn’t some dumb crush Arya, you’re head over heels for that bastard, and ignoring it isn’t going to do anyone any good. It’s okay to be scared sweetie, especially with what happened last time, but you can’t let it stop you from getting what you want.” Hitting the nail on the head like that was kind of a speciality of Talisa’s, everyone thought that Sansa was the mom friend, with all her fussing and detailed planning, but it was actually Talisa who watched over everyone and gave everyone rational and sound advice.  
“I’m not scared, I just don’t want to risk a lifetime of friendship, especially as he has given zero signs that he even likes me back. If I fuck this up I lose my best friend, don’t you see? I just can’t fucking win!” She exclaimed, gritting her teeth as she tried to make them understand.

“But you are scared, and that’s okay. Any one of us would be if we were in your position, but you can’t let it control you. Do you really believe Gendry is capable of ever doing something like that? I’m pretty sure he jump in front of a bus before even considering the idea. Just take a chance, what’s the worst that could happen? Yeah he could say no and the few weeks after that might be a bit awkward but it would sort itself in the end, you two always do.” Margaery reasoned, hoping to convince Arya that her fears of a relationship with Gendry were baseless.  
“It’s no use Marg, he has a type, a very obvious one I might add, and I fit literally none of the criteria. It’s fine, I’ll get over it eventually.” Arya ignored the comment about her previous relationship and instead fought to keep her facial expression neutral.  
“Okay, you don’t have to make a move, I just think you’ll feel a lot better if you just ask him, lay all your cards on the table. If you don’t ask him you might regret it and be stuck obsessing over all of the ‘what ifs’ and you don’t want that honey.” Talisa said diplomatically, “But how about we go out tomorrow. It’s Friday so we can just go out and have some fun, take your mind off of everything, yeah?” 

That got a small smile and a nod from a steadily relaxing Arya, prompting Sansa and Margaery to launch into an in depth conversation of the outfits that they had planned for tomorrow and much to Arya’s dismay she heard her own name mentioned multiple times and just knew that they were going to try and wrestle her into some girly abomination.  
She tuned them out after that, taking a minute to simply breathe before realising that the hoodie smelled strongly of Gendry, a mixture of his aftershave and his natural scent. A concoction which she had come to know and love. Arya breathed in deeply, allowing herself to be surround herself in it, letting it soothe her. Before she knew it Sansa was gently shaking her awake, whispering that it was late and time for her to go.

Reluctantly she heaved herself up from her position on the couch, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, thanking Margaery and bidding farewell to Talisa before following Sansa to her Mini.  
Once they had buckled in and were on their way home Sansa spoke up, “Talisa’s right you know Arya, you can’t let what happened define any more of your choices. Promise you’ll at least consider pursuing this? Please?” Arya rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day, realising that Sansa wasn’t going to simply let this go. So Arya half heartedly made the promise, if not for any other reason than to prevent any of her signature scheming or meddling.

When they got home Arya went straight to her room. Not wanting to deal with her family at the moment she simply undressed quickly and slipped beneath the covers. Alone in the darkness of her room she allowed herself to entertain a reality where she and Gendry were together, a reality where at the end of each day he pulled her close to him to sleep, where she could kiss him whenever she wanted. But those were the fantasies of a young naive girl, as romantical as the teenage Sansa had been. Yet as sleep claimed her, the last thought that flitted across her mind was that she wished that her dreams could become a reality.


	2. Misplaced Confidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Chapter 2 is a lot more angsty so please feel free to give me any advice and/or constructive criticism on how to improve.

Arya awoke to the sound of incessant ringing. Groggily, she raised her head and blindly reached for her phone before and answering and muttering out a croaky “Hullo?”

“Good morning milady,” Came a voice through the phone sounding far too cheery for this ungodly hour.

“Fuck off, what do you want?” She snapped back but there was no heat behind it. Everybody knew that messing with a tired Arya and her sleep was like signing your death warrant yourself. 

“Your brother has decided to force me into spending the day with him, something about relationship issues with Ygritte and bro code dictates I have to help him out. Sorry but can we reschedule plans? I probably should go help him out he sounds pretty down about it,” Now that was only a half truth but Gendry didn’t feel it would be exactly wise to tell Arya the truth. After all, what was he going to say? ‘Hey Arry, I’m cancelling our plans for the day because lately I’ve had the biggest crush on you but can’t do anything about it’ yeah, no thanks. 

“Mm, s’fine whatever, but you owe me doughnuts next time we’re out,” Arya replied, mildly relieved that she no longer had to get out of bed as early.

“Great thanks Arry, see you later?” Gendry only got an acknowledging groan as a farewell before he hung up and Arya rolled over, going back to sleep in an instant.   
When she next awoke it due to the sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains, hitting her straight in the face. She huffed, rolling over with the intent of just going back to sleep but soon realised it was a futile effort. Glancing at the clock she realised it was already 1 in the afternoon and that she had dramatically overslept. Sighing she dragged herself out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen where Robb and Talisa sat ignoring each other in favour of their earphones.

“Well I’m glad to see romance isn’t dead,” She teased, slipping past them to get a glass of juice. 

“Morning hun, or afternoon,” Talia replied rolling her eyes as she removed her earphones, “made some kind of decision yet?” She knew that asking this was pointless, no one was more stubborn than Arya and if she was adamant she wasn’t going to tell him, odds were on she wasn’t going to tell him. 

“Yep, I’m going to go out tonight and have some fun and forget all about it, it’ll be fine, I’ll get over it before long.” At this point Arya didn’t know if she was trying to persuade herself or Talisa, but it didn’t matter, she refused to jeopardise over a decade of friendship on a crush. She’d had crushes before and they eventually went away, just like this one would. 

“Alright honey it’s your call. But word of warning, Sansa and Margaery are coming later on to help you get ready, just thought you might want a heads up,” smirking, Talisa went back to her phone and Robb, who wasn’t listening in the first place, got up to flick the kettle on, completely oblivious to the fact that his baby sister had developed a crush on one of his friends. 

“Ugh thanks, you’re coming too though yeah?” Arya asked, “I’m gonna need some kind of moral support,” after receiving Talisa’s answering nod she retreated back to her room where she changed into some leggings and an old football jersey of Jon’s before clipping her lead onto Nymeria and setting off in the direction of the park. 

Spending time with Nymeria was usually the best way for Arya to make important decisions. It allowed her to clear her head and sort through her problems chronologically as she threw the ball repeatedly. However today it seemed as though her brain would not settle and she found herself getting increasingly more agitated as he mulled over her situation. 

Eventually she realised that she had been out for the better part of two hours and began to head home, resigning herself to her fate at the hands of Sansa and Margaery. 

When she got home Bran was cooking dinner, wheeling about the kitchen with surprising agility whilst Rickon sat at the table chattering away at him, “There you are! I was hoping you’d be back in time to eat something, apparently Ygritte has been invited to your girls night which means shots. And we all know you can’t handle shots on an empty stomach.” It was times like these that made Arya question which brother was really her favourite, sure Jon understood her like no one else and they had grown up the closest, but Bran looked out for her in a way that no one else did, his maturity well beyond his 18 years.

“Thanks, although I guess this means I won’t be the only one wearing jeans right?” Arya asked, earning a chuckle from both boys as they knew it was only a matter of time before Sansa came marching down the stairs demanding that Arya ‘at least consider wearing a dress, it would look so gorgeous’. 

They ate in relative silence, with Rickon occasionally bringing up discussions of various action movies, which all three have a passion for. When they finished eating and were just loading their plates into the dishwasher Sansa waltzed into the kitchen as if on cue, ushering Arya out the door and towards the bathroom. She went relatively willingly, rolling her eyes at the brothers. 

The literal second she emerged from the bathroom Margaery’s hand closed around her arm, practically dragging her into Sansa’s room. 

“I know you always say no to dresses” Sansa began, holding up a hand when Arya opened her mouth to argue, “but I thought we could meet in the middle, I got this on my last shopping trip” Sansa produced a black shorts jumpsuit with a plunging neckline, even Arya had to admit that she was impressed with Sansa’s choice this time. 

“Okay,” she sighed, acting as though she was conceding although it was evident she had had no intention of arguing in the first place.

“Oh my gosh, yay! That’s great, so will you let Marg do your hair as well?” Her sister pushed, never satisfied until she got her way. But again Arya conceded almost uncharacteristically. 

Before she knew it she was seated in front of Sansa’s dresser with Margaery doing God knows what to her hair and Sansa prodding at her face with all kinds of brushes and powders. 

Not half an hour later they were done and finally allowed Arya to see the end product. Except it didn’t look like her, not at all. Her steel grey eyes were now defined by a dark liner, with the rest of her face appearing soft and dewy, and her short hair fell in loose waves, with two braids holding it back from her face. She was almost unrecognisable. 

“You look so gorgeous Arya!” Margaery declared, giving her efforts a once over and for the first time Arya may have to at least partially agree. She knew she would never have the elegant beauty of Sansa, or the grace and poise her mother had tried to instill upon her from day one, but here, looking at her reflection, she felt further from ‘Arya Horseface’ than ever before. 

“Thank you guys,” and she meant it, truly. For a long time she had struggled with how she looked, always too short, too toned, features too sharp. The constant Sansa-shaped shadow coupled with her mother’s incessant disapproval and criticism had left her with a lot of self doubt growing up, struggling to find herself outside of the restrictive ideals of her mother, but as she slipped into the jumpsuit and slid on some small black heels she caught a glimpse of someone that she wanted to be.

Sansa and Margaery both readied themselves with surprising speed, her sister opting for a short, navy skater dress that highlighted the long auburn flowing down her back and her model-worthy physique whilst Margaery had on a tighter dress that was as blue as the sky, both women looking as though they had stepped straight off the cover of Vogue. 

They all piled into Sansa’s Mini with Arya and Talisa crammed into the back, although they all knew that Arya would end up driving them home as the only one who didn’t like to drink. 

Once they got to the bar they all split off in different directions, with Arya and Margaery going to find them and a booth and Sansa and Talisa going to buy the first round of drinks. 

Being at the bar gave them a perfect view of the front door, where it was impossible to miss Gendry, Jon, Robb and Tormund piling in. The two women eyed each other apprehensively, both thinking the same thing. They’d brought Arya out to take her mind off of Gendry, to let her have some fun with the girls but they realised that this wouldn’t be happening. 

In a similar fashion to the girls, Robb and Tormund made their way to the bar whilst Gendry and Jon went to find a booth, unfortunately the pair made a beeline for where Arya and Margaery were, sitting themselves down with them and striking up a conversation. The two shared another look before grabbing their drinks and going to join them. 

“A glass of red for the lady and a lemonade for the less of a lady,” Sansa announced upon arrival, placing their respective drinks in front of them. Arya only rolled her eyes and showed her sister her middle finger.

“So what are you guys doing out? And who tied Arya down to make her wear that?” Gendry asked, giving Arya a once over, eyes lingering just a beat too long on the plunging neckline of the jumpsuit before raising an eyebrow at Sansa and Margaery who held up their hands, feigning innocence. 

“Actually she agreed, no wrestling was necessary,” Margaery smirked at Arya who only rolled her eyes once again.

“Wow I’m surprised, looking this nice almost doesn’t suit you Arry, it seems fake” Jon said unaware of the issue that he had just caused. Arya suddenly retreated ever so slightly from the table her arms coming in front of her. It was a defensive move, one that only Sansa and Gendry seemed to notice. 

Sansa knew that Jon didn’t mean any offense from his comment, he was clearly already drunk and probably meant it as a complement but Arya was already so self conscious about her image and he had just planted a seed of doubt that she was forced to watch grow from afar. 

After that everything seemed to go well, Arya was still hesitant to involve herself in the main conversation but had been engrossed in a conversation with Ygritte since she arrived. Of course something had to go wrong.

“So Gendry, you haven’t gotten laid in a while,” Tormund blunt as ever declared, completely oblivious to the fact that Arya had almost flinched at his words, simply laughing when Gendry choked on his beer. 

“Um I guess not,” Gendry replied, his discomfort apparent in the way he shifted under the amused gaze of Jon and Tormund. Arya felt as though she could not breathe, already dreading what she knew was coming.

“Well I think you should remedy that don’t you?” Tormund carried on, blind to the increasing tension at the table and the worried looks that the girls were shooting Arya. 

‘No, no, no’ she thought, ‘this can not be happening, please, not whilst I’m right here’ panic was creeping in and she tried to ground herself by gripping her glass of lemonade tightly between her shaking hands.

“What about her over there?” He asked pointing to a girl on a bar stool who could rival the beauty of even Sansa. She had legs for days, a perfect hourglass figure and silky blonde hair that reached her waist. A cold sense of dread washed over Arya as she recognised who that hair belonged to. Jeyne Poole. 

The girl had tormented Arya throughout her days at school, picking on her clothes, her hair but especially her face and body, assigning her the nickname ‘Arya Horseface’ which she never seemed to escape from as the rest of the year caught on. 

However the boys only grinned, blissfully unaware of the psychological turmoil this conversation was forcing Arya to endure. “Damn, a solid ten, you should definitely go for it Gen,” now even Jon thought Jeyne was gorgeous because of course he did, everyone did, it was nothing new because it was true. Jeyne was not only the epitome of idealistic beauty, but also the complete opposite of Arya herself. 

Deciding she couldn’t take this anymore Arya stood, muttering something about needing the toilet before rushing off towards the back door, ignoring the sympathetic looks the girls shot her way.

Finally she made it to the tiny yard of the bar, collapsing into a chair as she attempted to regain control of her breathing. Gendry had been with her throughout school, had even heard some of Jeyne’s insults in person and had gotten defensive in her honour. But even Jon, who had heard some of Jeyne’s worst insults cried to him as he tried to comfort a hysterical Arya, supported the idea of her and Gendry. It seemed no man could resist her beauty. 

Arya heard the door open behind her but chose to ignore it, probably some random person going for a fag. 

“Arya Horseface? I thought it was you,” the bitch herself, Jeyne Poole, greeted Arya, if it could be called greeting. Arya’s whole body visibly tensed as she braced herself for what was sure to be a humiliating and degrading encounter.

“What do you want Jeyne?” 

“I want to know how Gendry Waters, the fittest guy in Winterfell is still hanging around with you. I mean we all knew he was only friends with you out of pity in school, but now? Why would he still be hanging round with your ugly mug?” she asked, a mask of innocent curiosity sculpted on her face. 

“Just leave me alone Jeyne, I’m not in the mood.” Arya sighed exasperatedly, praying that that would be it, she’d insult her and then leave. 

No, because you see, I have an idea that I wanted to run by you,” Jeyne began, an evil glint to her eyes, “Gendry deserves better than you, and I’m going to show him just how much better, show him how much better off he is without you because I really don’t know what he sees in you, a short girl with a horse face who looks and dresses like a boy.” 

There, that was it, the real reason Jeyne had followed her out. Not just to insult her, although she’d done plenty of that, but to warn her that she was going to take Gendry away from her. Arya didn’t know how a woman could be so childish, but she was confident in her friendship with Gendry, he was not her friend out of pity and he knew what Jeyne was like.

So Arya simply responded with “Ok,” watching as Jeyne gave a sickly sweet smile and flounced back inside. 

Arya stayed outside a few minutes longer, ensuring that she had her emotions in check before reentering the bar, couldn’t have her accidentally declaring her feelings now could we? 

When she went back in and made her way over to the table, she noticed the absence of Gendry and turned her head to look at the bar. No, he was not ordering a drink or chatting up Jeyne, which she took as a good sign, probably just gone to the loo she thought.

Until her eye caught a flash of blonde hair leaving the bar, followed by the unmistakable black hair and bullish stature of Gendry Waters. 

Arya couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Just stood helplessly as she watched them walk out, feeling her heart crack. 

She had trusted him, felt so sure in their friendship that he would never betray her like this. He knew how awful Jeyne was to her during school, and still was now. About the bullying and the teasing and the name calling. But he’d left with her anyway.

She’d never felt so stupid in her entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I din't want to portray Arya as weak but wanted to get across her insecurities and self doubt even as she tried to mask it and I hope I have done that. As always constructive criticism and advice is welcome.


	3. The Ultimate Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is a lot of angst in this chapter and a hell of a lot of dialogue. So enjoy :)

She knew Sansa and Talisa were watching her as she sat back down with looks of equal sympathy and concern but she couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge them at the moment. She felt betrayed.

She had trusted Gendry more than anyone, he had been her best friend for so long, had been there for her through so much and just like that he made her question everything. As soon as he was given half a chance he went off with someone else. But not just anyone, the one person who had done her best to make Arya’s life a living hell.

Sansa’s hand wrapped around her own in a silent display of comfort and empathy and she squeezed it back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I really thought he liked you back.” The remorse in her tone was obvious as she realised that she had pushed Arya to admit her feelings, convinced that they were reciprocated, though that no longer seemed to be the case and her heart ached for her sister.

Arya only nodded and continued to clutch Sansa’s hand as she tried to drown out the sound of Jon telling Tormund and Robb how proud he was of Gendry for taking home the hottest girl here. Ygritte quickly shut him up but the damage was done and once again Jon was the cause.

Her big brother, her favourite brother, who had told her countless times growing up that she was beautiful, and smart, and brave had announced that Jeyne was the hottest girl here. And Arya was the literal opposite of her.

She knew now why she had never stood a chance with Gendry. He was undoubtedly gorgeous, with the body of a greek god, and he was kind and funny and genuine. He could have any girl he wanted, which he had proved when he followed Jeyne out that door.

Not five minutes later Sansa announced that she wasn’t feeling well and asked Arya to take her and the girls home. She had never been so thankful for her sister than in that moment as she was struggling to deal with the whirlwind of thoughts in her head when surrounded by all the music and conversation.

The car was silent on the journey home, with nobody quite knowing what to say to Arya as she drove them home. Each and every one of them had encouraged her feelings, persuaded her to make a mage and assured her that he felt the same way, and then watched as her heart broke, proving them wrong.

Usually the drive home after a night out with a loud and joking affair, but Arya, usually the most charismatic had a sobre and pensive look on her face and no one dared approach the subject for fear that she may break her control.

As they pulled up to Margaery’s house, Arya got out to let her out of the back but before she got back in she was stopped by Margaery, who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and whispered “sorry”. She responded with sharp nod and a weak, watery smile, eager to leave and go back home.

 

Once they got home Talisa muttered an apology to Arya before quietly leaving her alone with Sansa. Once again, Sansa grabbed her hand, whether as a comfort or as a guide she wasn’t sure but it was appreciated.

In a daze she followed Sansa to the bathroom where they both went about washing their faces and brushing their teeth. Once they were done Arya sat on the edge of her bed letting Sansa carefully undo the braids and shake out her hair. 

Her sister hugged her then and Arya clung back, allowing the tears she had been holding back to fall freely. She knew she was an ugly crier, with loud gasping breaths and sobs but she couldn’t seem to stop as her sister simply held her, stroking her hair and keeping her close.

When it seemed she was all cried out, Sansa left Arya to get changed and when she came back in her pajamas Arya was already curled up in bed. Wordlessly, Sansa climbed in with her and they just laid there in quiet companionship until Arya’s muffled sobs finally evened out in the deep even breaths of her fitful sleep.

Arya awoke to the most horrendous headache known to man. She sat up, trying to get her bearings but quickly regretted it as the night came flooding back to her. First the outfit, and how she thought Gendry had checked her out, then to that awful encounter with Jeyne, to Jon’s multiple comments about her, to finally watching Gendry leave with Jeyne. 

She took notice of the absence of Sansa as she checked her phone, seeing that it was already 11am and that she had a missed call from Jon, and 3 unread texts.

The first was off Rickon telling her he had taken Nymeria with him and Shaggydog to the beach and the second was from Sansa saying she’d gone to see Margaery and that they would talk when she got back.

But the third was from Gendry asking her if she could come over that afternoon and proofread his application essay to one of the local universities, and that was at eight this morning.

Of course she thought dejectedly he probably got up to make Jeyne breakfast before she left. The thought saddened Arya more than she would care to admit and so she huddled further into her duvet, deciding that she couldn’t deal with that at the moment, and sent him a message promising to do it another day but not today as she was ill.

She doesn’t know how long she lay there, wrapped up in her own thoughts and trying desperately not to think of Gendry and Jeyne before Sansa came into her room, followed closely by Bran.

“I am so sorry Arya,” she began, climbing under the covers with her once again, “this is all my fault. I completely read the situation wrong and I really thought he liked you back, what with all the staring and the teasing, I’m so sorry.” Sansa rambled on but she didn’t care. She wanted Arya to know how sorry she was for getting her hopes up, only for them to be crushed only hours later.

“It’s ok Sans, really, it was bound to happen anyways I knew he didn’t like me like that and let myself hope anyway,” She was mildly proud that she got all of that out without crying but it felt nice, to say the truth out loud. 

“I promise you, we’ll find you a boy that is so right for you that you’ll forget all about this thing with Gendry, and you will be happy, okay? I promise,” Arya felt like this was a bit dramatic but she understood how truly awful Sansa felt and nodded along anyway. 

“Yeah Sans, we will but not yet okay, I need some time to get over this.” She wanted her sister to understand that even though she’d been telling everyone that it was just some stupid crush, that it wasn’t serious, she was still so hurt because that wasn’t the case at all. She had grown to love him and the heartbreak from her first love wasn’t something she was bound to get over quickly.

“Yeah okay, I understand. How about I go get some cheesecake? That nice one from the bakery in town? And we can eat it in bed and watch friends reruns yeah?” But Sansa didn’t even wait for a reply before she took off, car keys in hand. 

That left Arya to look at Bran who was staring at her with an unreadable look on his face. “Go on then, out with it.”

“It’s not the fact that he doesn’t like you back is it? It’s because he left with Jeyne.” That last part was a statement not a question and she realised that he was right. If he’d have left with anyone else then she’d have been upset, sure, but not left feeling almost overwhelming betrayal. 

“It’s just that I thought he understood. He knows how awful she is, not just to me, but in general, and he still left with her, when I was there!” She was glad to get this off her chest to someone who she knew would understand because Bran had been there, had often heard Jeyne’s comments, having been in the year below.

“I know. I really don’t know why he did it. Why do you think he did?” Bran asked, just as baffled as Arya had been. Gendry knew full well the torment Jeyne had subjected Arya to, he surely had to have known this would hurt her? 

“I don’t know! Maybe he just saw her tits and her ass and thought ‘hey I wanna hit that’ like every fucker else does.” She was annoyed now, because even as she thought about it there was no reason for Gendry to go with Jeyne. There were plenty of other hot women at the bar last night and Gendry could have had any one of them, yet he chose her.

“Maybe,” at least Bran was never one to beat around the bush, “but it just seems odd. How much had he had to drink?” 

“Not a clue, he wasn’t sober but seemed alright enough, why?” 

“People do stupid things when they’re drunk, just ask Theon.” It was a weak jest, but it coaxed a smile from Arya as she remembered the many things that Theon had done whilst under the influence.

“I’m just saying, I know you’re feeling hurt and betrayed and you’re really angry at him right now but the Gendry you and I both know would never intentionally do anything to hurt you.” She knew that, Gendry had a kind and gentle soul, but even if he hadn’t done it on purpose he had still hurt her. 

“I know but I think I’m allowed to be fucking upset,” Bran smiled at this, glad to see that Arya hadn’t tried to completely block out her emotions.

“Also just gotta say Arry, you sure do know how to pick em.” Bran joked, which earned a hearty laugh from Arya.

This was another reason why Bran had favourite brother potential. He never danced around what happened to her, instead made jokes and never treated her any differently because of it. 

Bran left after that, never one to hover when he wasn’t needed and Arya was left to her own devices until Sansa came back with the cheesecake. 

She stayed that way for the next couple of days, lazing around the house, only leaving to walk Nymeria. Whenever Gendry texted she just told him that she was still sick.

On the fourth day after the night out the doorbell rang whilst Arya, Sansa, Bran and Rickon were in the living room, and after a beat, Sansa rolled her eyes and got up to get it.

“No I’m sorry but now’s not a good time,” came Sansa’s voice down the hall and the other three siblings looked at each other quizzically. There was some murmuring before an indignant shout from Sansa and Gendry’s head poked through the door. 

“Well you don’t look very sick,” was his greeting. He had known something was off as soon as Sansa had tried to deny him entrance. He was always welcome at the Stark’s and had taken care of Arya when she was sick multiple times in the past. 

“That’s because she’s not,” Rickon said, his lack of tact and confused expression was almost comical as he didn’t realise what he’d just dropped Arya into without knowing. 

With a heavy sigh Arya stood up from the sofa and motioned for Gendry to follow her, leading him up the many flights of stairs to her room. 

“What’s going on?” Gendry asked as he sat down next to her on the bed, concern evident in his eyes.

“I’ve, um, been having some off days, mentally, and just needed some time to, like, get my shit together.” Arya prayed her voice wouldn’t shake too much and betray her but she couldn’t blame it if it did, her emotions were all over the place. 

“And you didn’t think to call me? I would have helped you know that.” He replied earnestly. Arya knew that of course but how would she explained why she felt like she might burst into tears at the sight of him.

It had gotten better over the past couple of days, she had barely cried since the morning after but the betrayal still stung her heart.

“I know, but Sansa’s been talking it out with me and I didn’t want anyone to worry, this time next week I’ll be absolutely fine,” Shit there it was, her voice had cracked and betrayed her and she knew Gendry wouldn’t let it go now that he recognised that she had blatantly lied to him. 

“Bullshit, you’ve been avoiding me, why?” That raised her hackles, what right did he have to be mad at her after what he had done? 

“I haven’t, I’ve just wanted some space from everyone.” She would at least try to be diplomatic and get him to leave without causing an argument, but she had a bad feeling that that wasn’t going to be the case. 

“No, I’m not fucking having it. You’ve never shut me out before. And if you truly wanted space you wouldn’t have been sat with Sansa and Rickon! Tell me the truth Arya.” If she’d been angry before she was furious now. He had no right to demand anything from her. The she-wolf in her rose and before she knew it she was standing in front of him.

“I think you know exactly why I haven’t seen you, you just don’t want to fucking admit that you were in the wrong.” She seethed, eyes narrowed as she stared him down.

“Me? I haven’t done anything fucking wrong! You’re not making any fucking sense!” His voice had begun to rise again and Arya knew that she should stop this. Fighting with him would only hurt more in the long run but she couldn’t help it, she was too stubborn to back down now. 

“Really? So what about Friday night then? Was that fucking alright then yeah?” she was livid, breathing harshly and fighting the urge to hit him, and he glared at her, shoulders tensed and ready for a fight.

“I don’t know what you’re on about. It was just a fucking normal night out! Would you just stop being a bitch and tell me what the fuck is going on?” Fine, if he wanted to know, she would tell him.

“What’s going on is that you left with her and you knew that that would fucking hurt me but you did it anyway. You betrayed your fucking best friend for a quick fucking shag! Well I hope her perfect pretty face was fucking worth it!” She screamed, and it felt good to finally get that out in the open.

“Why the fuck should you care who I shag? And how is that fucking betraying you, you crazy bitch? I wasn’t even out with you!” She scoffed.

“It’s betrayal when you choose Jeyne Poole over me. I don’t care in what context or how gorgeous she is. It wasn’t fair and it hurt.” She said, an odd calm rushing through her. If he was going to scream and call her then she didn’t want to waste the energy it took to scream back.

“Look Arry, I’m sorry -” 

“You’re sorry? Now you’re sorry? You knew that it would hurt me, ever since that day that Theon flirted with her you knew that if you left me for her it would hurt. And do you know what the funniest part is? I had so much trust in you that even when she threatened to take you away and show you ‘what you deserve’ I just laughed because I thought there’s no way he would betray me like this. I guess I was wrong.” she stated calmly, just wanting the whole conversation to disappear. 

“No, that is not fair -”

“And what you did was? Please just leave Gendry.”

“No I’m going to stay and we’re going to sort this out. You forgave Theon, why can’t you forgive me?” 

“Because I wasn’t fucking in love with Theon you idiot!” She screamed, so much for feeling calm she thought before realising what she had done. 

Gendry was staring at her blankly, mouth hanging open. It would have been comical if Arya wasn’t suddenly feeling sick at what she had done. She couldn’t believe what she had done and she cursed herself when she realised that this was it. She had blown her chance. Gendry would never look at her the same way again.

He was still staring when Rickon appeared at the door. “Come on man, I think it’s time you leave,” he said quietly but Gendry completely ignored him in favour of continuing to stare at her. 

Next Bran rolled in, slower since having to take the lift. “Gendry I really think it would be best if you left.” But Gendry still wasn’t paying them attention.

“Gendry if you don’t leave, I’ll call Jon and Robb to come and make you leave.” Bran wasn’t messing around this time.

The threat seemed to stir something in Gendry as he realised that he really didn’t want a run in with Arya’s brothers and so he made for the door but turned at the last second,

“I’m sorry I hurt you, that was never what I wanted,” he said but it was a monotone sentence, as if he were on autopilot. Then he turned on his heel and left, not giving Arya a second glance. 

Arya didn’t get that? What had he wanted? If he didn’t want her hurt why did he do it? He knew, better than anyone, that it would hurt her yet still did it whilst she was there to watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to portray Arya as strong and independent but with a good support system and I feel as though in modern AUs Bran, Sansa and Rickon have to take a back seat or are created to be rude, selfish or even drug addicts and I wanted to show that Arya has a bond with all of her siblings, not just Jon. And I also like the idea of the younger siblings keeping things between themselves to avoid the over protectiveness of Jon and Robb and even Theon.
> 
> As always feedback, advice and constructive criticism are all very welcome.


	4. Drunk Ramblings Or Drunk Confessions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to post but I had some serious writer's block and didn't want to rush anything. So here it is, any feedback or constructive criticism is, of course, always appreciated.

Surprisingly Arya did not cry. She had thought she would, was fully prepared to, but the tears never came. Instead she was left with this gaping hole in her chest as she exchanged a weak smile with Rickon, shook her head subtly at Bran and followed them downstairs to continue watching TV. 

After that things went back to normal. Or at least, the new normal without Gendry. She spent a lot of time with Nymeria, made pies with Hot Pie and met with the girls every Thursday night.

Gendry never tried to contact her again and she strangely wondered if anyone had ever proofread that essay. 

She missed him, impossibly so. She never realised how great his influence was on her until he was gone. Normally on days like this one, where she had nothing to do she would be sat watching Gendry work at the garage and keeping him company through long shifts. 

But she refused to wallow in her sadness. She was Arya Stark and no boy was worth that much heartache.

Everything was ok until she was invited to the Tyrell family’s annual December 1st party. She knew there was no way she was getting out of it and she was looking forward to it, spending time with the girls and some family friends but she also knew that Gendry was likely to be there and she hadn’t seen him in three weeks. 

The morning of the party saw a standoff in the Stark kitchen. Arya and Rickon were adamant that it was ok to go in jeans as long as they were paired with a decent shirt whereas Sansa and Catelyn were looking at them as though they’d wanted to go in just their underwear. 

“You simply can not! I know it’s ‘black tie optional’ but decent clothing is not.” Catelyn reprimanded, sick of the same conversation she had with these two each year without fail. 

“Arya just wear what you wore last year,” Robb called from the living room, “that was okay,”

Arya visibly shook, grimacing, “Not a chance, that was Sansa’s and it made me look like candy floss!” She declared, earning a laugh from Rickon which Catelyn immediately shot down with a glare.

Suddenly Ygritte popped her head into the kitchen, seemingly already ready in a simple green skater dress, wild red hair in a messy ponytail and face bare. 

“I might have something you can borrow.” 

She turned to leave and Arya followed wordlessly, leaving behind an apprehensive Catelyn. 

“I was going to wear this tonight but then stole this dress off Talisa so it’s yours if you want it,” she said as she pulled out a long black and floral jumpsuit that Arya immediately liked.

“Ooh yes, thank you!”

“Now you won’t have to wear that stupid frilly dress of Sansa’s,” Ygritte replied with a chuckle.

She went back to her room to put it on before settling on some white Converse and eyeliner. When she returned to the kitchen even Catelyn seemed pleased, if not a little frustrated that her daughter had chosen to wear Converse but decided to pick her battles.

Arya and Sansa followed Jon and Ygritte to his Jeep whilst the rest of the family plus Talisa and Theon piled into the family car. About ten minutes into the journey Arya realised that they weren’t heading to the Tyrell’s, instead they were heading towards a street that Arya knew very well. 

“Where are we going?” She asked yet she feared she already knew the answer. 

“Just picking Gendry up on the way.” He answered and both Sansa and Ygritte shot her a look.

Well shit she thought I’m fucked now. What was she going to do now? The ride from his to Margaery’s was a good twenty minutes and as the smallest she would have to sit in the middle, right next to him. 

Get a grip woman, you have to sit next to him, not fuck him. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of the car door opening and Gendry sliding in next to her.

He muttered a quick hello to Jon and they drive in silence, listening to the radio. Ygritte and Sansa occasionally sending worried glances towards the two but Arya ignored them.

She also tried her best not to look at Gendry but kept failing drastically. He looked good, she thought, and he was wearing those jeans that made his ass look fantastic. She almost groaned aloud at that, realising how hard it would be to survive the whole night without constantly checking him out. 

His impressive size and the small seats meant that their thighs were constantly pressed together and Arya once again thanked her lucky stars that she had not been forced to wear the candy floss dress; she didn’t think she could manage her bare skin against him. 

Thankfully the journey passed quite quickly and before she knew it they were all spilling out of the car. She barely had a second to breathe before Sansa was grabbing her hand and hauling her inside and onto the dance floor. 

Surprisingly, she had a lot of fun just dancing with Sansa and messing about as MArgaery and Talisa joined them. It was nice to just let her hair down and have fun, she even had moments where she forgot about Gendry though she occasionally felt his eyes on her and knew he couldn’t be more than twenty feet away.

Eventually a slow song came on and she found herself swaying slowly with Robb, neither of them with much finesse as they both caught their breath.

“This is fun,” he said causing Arya to scoff slightly, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just tired.”

“Bullshit,” Arya raised an eyebrow, Robb was not one to swear, “you’ve been mopey all week and you haven’t spoken to Gendry at all tonight. I’m not stupid, I know something’s wrong.” 

Arya sighed, she had been counting on Robb’s obliviousness to keep him out of it and stop him meddling or becoming overprotective but she knew she couldn’t lie to him. It wasn’t what the Starks did. 

“I, I had feelings for him, and the night I was finally going to tell him, he um, he slept with Jeyne Poole,” Robb’s eyes widened, first in shock and then anger started to play across them, “no, it’s not really his fault, honestly, he didn’t know and I can’t expect him to have. It’s just it was Jeyne fucking Poole ya know?”

Robb did know and he felt white hot shame flash through him as he realised that in his drunken state he had only encouraged Gendry to leave with her. He hadn’t even thought of her history with Arya, just that she was hot and clearly willing. 

“Fuck, I never even thought,” he said, unsure of how to respond. He didn’t like the idea of his baby sister having a love life, but he didn’t like the idea of her getting hurt even more. 

“It’s okay, it seems none of you were thinking that night, Jon said some stuff he shouldn’t have as well,” she replied with a noncommittal shrug. “It just sucks because we argued afterwards and we both got mad and then I went and told him, like some brainless idiot. Just don’t know how to move past this. I don’t want to lose him.” 

The last part was muffled into his shoulder as they continued to sway. They were silent for a moment, each of them caught up in their own thoughts.

Robb glanced over at Gendry, only to find him already looking their way, a glass of whisky in his hand and a sour look on his face. Their eyes met and he glared at him until Gendry got up and left, downing the rest of his drink. 

“I don’t think you two could ever lose each other. You’ll find a way, don’t worry, I promise you that everything will be okay.”

Arya nodded but inside she was slightly annoyed that Robb had not given her any real advice but the comforting words from her brother were soothing.

The songs quickly picked up their pace again and she found herself being twirled around by Tormund of all people. Soon enough she became tired as any more than five minutes with the red head was enough to tire anyone out.

She made her way over to the bar and ordered a lemonade, thanking Margaery’s money as she realised it was an open bar and she wouldn’t be forced to pay the extortionate prices at normal bars. 

As she sat down at a stool she realised a second too late that the man next to her was the one and only Gendry Waters and it was far too late to move now without making things awkward. 

So she sat waiting for her drink until Gendry turned his head and seemed to realise that she was there. “Hey, I’ve missed you,” he slurred and she was shocked to discover how truly wasted he was.

Arya stayed silent probably a moment too long as then Gendry looked her in the eyes, “don’t ignore me, please.” He was still slurring but the words seemed genuine when paired with the sadness of his eyes.

“I’m not ignoring you, I promise, it’s just - hard.” She placated him.

“It’s not hard really, you love me, I love you, I don’t know why you’re avoiding me.” He sounded like a child with his plain words and simple logic.

It broke Arya’s heart to hear him say he loved her when he was drunk off his ass, knowing he would never mean it the way that she did. That he could never be in love with her the way she was with him. 

“It’s just not the same Gendry,” she sighed.

“But it is, I love you Arya, I don’t want to lose you!” She could hear the sincerity behind his words and it just broke her heart even more, for Gendry to not want to lose her, yet he was the one who pushed her away. 

“I know, it’s ok, you won’t lose me,” best not to break drunk Gendry’s heart.

He began mumbling incoherently after that and it scared her how out of it he seemed. She grabbed his hand and he looked at her but his eyes were clouded and she realised that he was completely intoxicated.

“Here Gen, just drink this for me okay?” she slid her lemonade into his hand and he did but Arya was doubtful it would actually do anything.

She decided that the best course of action would be to take him home and have him sleep it off. 

“Gendry just stay here a sec for me yeah?” Quickly, she darted off to find Ygritte and Jon to tell them where she was going before calling a taxi on the way back to Gendry.

He was still seated at the bar staring unseeing at the floor. He barely lifted his head when she returned and he was like a dead weight as she looped her arm around his waist and led him outside.

The fresh air seemed to do him good and when the taxi arrived he was up almost completely on his own. They slid into the back of the taxi and Gendry slumped against Arya in the back seat.

She wondered what it would be like if they were together. She would be able to curl up next to him whenever she wanted, not to keep him from falling off the seat. His solid warmth against her could be instead wrapped around, offering affection, comfort and protection. 

Eventually they reached his flat and she thanked her lucky stars that he lived on the ground floor. 

Arya always found it hilarious when she had to haul an intoxicated Sansa home, but a very heavy and emotional Gendry was proving to be much less fun. 

Somehow she managed to get him to his room and onto his bed and she managed to persuade him to at least take off his shoes before he dived into bed like an eight year old. 

Arya turned to go and get him some water and his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t go,” 

“It’s fine Gen, I’ll be back in a sec with some water, yeah?”

“No you can’t, you’ve avoided me for weeks now and it’s been the worst few weeks of my life. Please don’t leave me. I’ve missed you.” 

He was crying now and Arya didn’t think she’d seen him cry since they were at school and it made her heart ache. She hadn’t realised how the separation must’ve affected him as well, he lost his best friend over a one night stand. 

“Listen, Gen I promise you I’ll be right back okay. And have I ever broken a promise?” He nodded and reluctantly released her wrist. 

In the kitchen Arya was thinking that the best plan of attack was to give him his water, make sure he went to sleep and then just leave. She kept having to remind herself that she shouldn’t feel guilty for ignoring him, he had been the one to make the mistake in the first place. 

Returning to his room she saw that he had now stripped himself down to just his underwear and was watching her like a hawk. Arya sighed, once again wishing that they were actually together so she could cuddle with him in moments like these. 

She set the water on the bedside table along with a few paracetamols which she knew he would need in the morning and turned back to face him.

“Do you hate me now?” He asked plaintively, like a child. 

“No, I could never hate you,” it was the truth, she could never hate him, no matter what he did or how much he hurt her, she never would. 

“But I hurt you,” 

Well he’s not exactly wrong she thought, and maybe other, normal people would hate him now, given everything that had happened, but Arya had never been a normal person. 

“You did. But that doesn’t mean I hate you,” his eyes turned sad at her admission, but it would do no good to lie to him now. 

“I’m sorry, you know that I am right?” She did know, but sometimes sorry isn’t enough. He knew it would hurt her and had done it anyway. Yes he had been drunk and egged on by his friends, but she had been there that night, surely that would have served as a reminder.

“I know you are, but you still did it.” Honesty seemed the best course of action at the moment.

“I don’t know why. I just wanted to get you out of my head, so I thought that if I shagged her, the opposite if you, it would work somehow.” He said, trying to get her to understand him.

Arya blanched, the opposite of her: tall, blonde and absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. She knew she wasn’t pretty of course, but hearing say it out loud made it seem more real; harder to ignore. But the more pressing question was why would he need to get her out of his head?

“What do you mean?” She asked, sitting down on the bed beside him.

“I thought if I fucked her, I could ignore my feelings for you.” Well that was unexpected and Arya did her best to squash any feelings of hope they tried to arise from his statement. 

“That doesn’t make any sense,”

“Neither did being in love with your best friend,” Arya froze at his admission. 

No, she thought, he doesn’t mean it. She didn’t know what game he was playing at but she knew he was lying. 

He liked girl like Jeyne Poole, with their long blonde hair, cute giggles and legs for days. Not girls like her, with short dark hair, sharp edges and an even sharper tongue. 

“Don’t lie to me,” she said plainly, willing for him to see that a false admission at this stage would only serve to cause further harm.

Although her voice didn’t waver her mind was in a state of panic trying to decipher what he meant by his words and what he hoped to achieve. 

Her steel grey eyes, always so expressive, must have displayed her panic as Gendry was suddenly reaching out a hand to her, grabbing her hand in an attempt to calm her nerves.

“I’m not lying okay? I promise I would never.” The conviction and sincerity in his face almost made her believe him but the slight slur to his words made it difficult. He was drunk, he probably wouldn’t even remember this in the morning. 

But even if he did mean it, she was just so afraid of getting hurt again. The agony he caused by sleeping with Jeyne would only be intensified if something like that happened again whilst they were in an actual relationship.

“I just don’t want to get hurt again.” She had meant emotionally, like what she had experienced over the past few weeks but as soon as his eyes flashed she knew she had messed up.

“You really think that I would do something like that? To you of all people?” He was angry now, and hurt that she would think that. But she hadn’t thought that, especially not of him, he would never physically hurt her. 

“No, no, I know you wouldn’t, I didn’t mean it like that,” 

“Then what did you mean?” 

She sighed, “When you left with Jeyne, that hurt, I couldn’t bare it if you did something like that again,” 

Her words, honest and truthful, provoked the anguish in his eyes.

“I’m sorry for that, you know that. If I could take it back I would, in a heartbeat.” 

“I know, and I forgive you, I think. But I don’t think I’ll ever forget what you did.” 

He nodded, resigned.

“So where do we go from here?” 

“I wish I knew.”

They sat in a pensive silence after that, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Arya looked up to see Gendry sleeping, a peaceful look on his face. She made to get up, grabbing her jacket and he left just as he began to snore.

In the taxi on her way home she wondered if he would even remember their conversation in the morning but his admission was what she mulled over most. It was possible, although highly unlikely in her opinion, that he had been telling the truth. But he could have also just been that drunk that he barely knew what he was saying. She was torn. 

When she got home she dug around in her wardrobe until she found what she was looking for. His hoodie, the one she had stolen that night he had dropped her off. She had hidden it because even looking at it had brought her pain. But now she inhaled deeply, allowing the smell of him to calm her.

She changed quickly, shrugging on the hoodie with a pair of sleep shorts before crawling into bed and shutting her eyes, hoping that a good night's sleep would help to solve her growing problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you go. Arya and Gendry are on the road to reconciliation but I didn't want to make it too easy, after all Gendry did hugely betray Arya and he needs to pay a little for that. I also wanted to convey the undeniable goodness of Arya as even though she felt betrayed by Gendry and wanted nothing more than to avoid him, she looked after him and made sure that he got home safely whereas others might have just considered it not their problem.


	5. Always Gonna Be Here For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So things get a little bit angsty in this chapter, nothing too major but there is mentioned of assault as well as panic attacks and some mild threat so I just though I would give fair warning.

When she awoke the next morning she was shocked to discover that she had a text from Gendry.

Stupid Bull: 08:13am Hey thanks for taking me home last night, sorry if I said any weird shit

A part of Arya was thankful that he didn’t seem to remember their conversation, but a larger part was disappointed. Even if his admission hadn’t been truthful and it was a load of drunken bullshit, a lot of other truths had spoken and she had hoped they would set them on the road to reconciliation. 

She sent him a quick text back saying it was fine and that she hoped his headache wasn’t too lethal before slowly beginning the process of getting ready. 

Arya had promised Sansa and Margaery that she would go shopping with them today as apparently she needed a new outfit for Robb and Talisa’s rehearsal dinner. If she was being honest she didn’t think she needed a new outfit but she decided it was bet to pick her battles.

It wasn’t long before she was ready to go, dressed in a simple jeans and plain t shirt and driving round to pick up Sansa and Margaery. Sansa gave her a quick glance of disapproval but thankfully didn’t say anything as she and Margaery climbed in in various shades of blouses and skirts. 

The first shop they went to was so pretentious and the dresses were so ugly that even Margaery couldn’t find anything worth buying but they had better luck in the second shop, with Sansa finding a baby blue, one shoulder dress with a slit up the side which made her legs seem impossibly longer.

In the third shop even Arya found something; a forest green skater dress that was relatively simple but enough to appease her mother and even Arya quite liked it. 

Finding something for Margaery however was a whole different ball bag. Everything she tried on didn’t seem to ‘work’ no matter how gorgeous Arya and Sansa tried to convince her she was.

By the sixth shop Arya had had enough, she wasn’t cut out for traipsing through shop after shop pretending to care about various shades of pink. Eventually she gave up and gave Sansa her keys so they could take the bags home whenever they managed to finish. 

During her walk to the bus stop she realised that it was getting dark and she cursed winter, hating that there never seemed to be enough hours in the day.

Once sat on the bus she had the strange feeling that somebody was watching her but quickly brushed it off. The bus was full of people, at least one of them had probably recognised her as Ned Stark, famous politician’s daughter. 

She had to switch buses partway through her journey but by then a snow storm had begun to develop. By the time she reached the bus stop a full on blizzard was raging and she still felt uneasy, as though she was being watched.

The bus company announced that their would be minor delays due to the delay and when Arya sat down on a cold plastic chair in the small building she began to feel really nervous. She couldn’t see anyone blatantly staring at her but that didn’t mean nobody was watching.

Being the daughter of a very famous and powerful politician did mean that she was a potential target and she had always been told to stay vigilant, and usually she was. But now she recognised how stupid she had been to take public transport alone on a dark winter night yet here she was, cursing her own stupidity. 

She refused to take any more risks and went to call Jon to come pick her up until she realised that he, Robb, Sam, Ned and even Tormund were away on Robb’s stag do. 

After going through the list of people in her head, Arya realised she had no choice but to call Gendry. She knew he would come and get her in a heartbeat, never even thinking of resenting her for interrupting any plans he may have.

He answered on the second ring.

“Hey,” 

“Hey, I need you to come pick me up,” 

“Is everything okay? What’s wrong?” The worry in his voice was apparent and she felt a strong surge of affection for him which she quickly tried to contain. 

“I don’t know. I’m stuck at the bus stop and I keep feeling like someone’s watching me and it’s awful.” She hadn’t realised just how horrible the situation was until she said it out loud.

“Shit, Arry, one sec I’m on my way, which bus stop are you at?” She could hear the panic in his voice along with his car keys jingling.

“The one near Wetherspoons. Please hurry up.” She hated hearing her voice tremor. She wasn’t weak. She was Arya fucking Stark and nobody could scare her.

“Don’t worry I’m coming, don’t leave until I get there okay?”

“Yeah okay,”

She hung up and sat with her phone clenched between white knuckles and glanced around the small room. There was an array of people here, none of them seeming particularly threatening and none of them even giving her a second glance.

Until she saw him. Sitting across the room from her and staring straight at her. She didn’t recognise him but she never expected to. He could be an overeager reporter, some random civilian who recognised her from the papers but he could also be an extremist, part of some political terrorist organisation and she didn’t want to find out.

Arya figured that the chances were that he would never try anything in a public place that was sure to have security cameras. So she sat there, pretending to be playing about on her phone all the while keeping one eye on the man and praying that Gendry would just hurry up.

When Gendry walked through the door she swore she had never been so happy to see anyone in her life. Jumping up from her chair she bounded over to him and all but threw herself at him. He caught her easily and she allowed herself to feel safe for the first time that night. 

Of course, Arya knew she shouldn’t rely on him to feel safe. Shouldn’t rely on him for comfort, or anything really. They weren’t together and she was only setting herself up for further torment.

“Are you okay?” He asked, clutching the back of her head against his shoulder with his hand. She nodded into his neck, 

“Yeah. Blond man in the back corner, blue coat, been watching me for the past hour or so.” He nodded and glanced over her shoulder to see him watching them, but glancing away as they made eye contact.

One of his arms encircled her, keeping her pressed against him as they made their way towards the exit. She could feel the tension in his shoulders and realised that they still weren’t in the clear just yet.

The cold air that hit her was like a breath of fresh air as she spotted Gendry’s beat up old truck. 

Even once they were driving away the tension still did not leave Gendry’s muscles and she realised just how worried he had been for her.

He had grown up with the Starks, had witnessed Robb get beaten up by a crazed civilian, heard the slurs screamed at the children when they were recognised in town by members of the other parties and he knew that this outcome had been the best possible given the circumstances.

“Thank you, for coming to get me.” 

“I always will Arry. No matter what. If anything had happened tonight …” he hesitated, “I would never have forgiven myself.”

He looked torn and Arya felt a surge of affection for him. A boy with so little growing up, who still turned out to be the most fiercely loyal and protective man she knew. 

“I know, it’s okay though, I promise I’m alright.” 

She tried to reassure him but knew he was probably imagining all the possible scenarios and ‘what ifs’ in his head.

He nodded stiffly, knuckles white around the steering wheel. 

“You okay to take me home?” She asked.

“No, your house is too far and I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight.” His eyes flashed and she caught a glimpse of the Baratheon in him, Ours is the Fury. 

His words inspired an odd feeling in Arya. He likely meant that it would be unsafe to drive to her house in a storm like this and he was a stressed out friend simply looking out for her. But Arya also thought there seemed a possessive undertone to his words, sending a thrill down her spine. 

“Ok, thanks.” She knew better than to argue with him when he was like this. Not that she particularly wanted to. She seemed addicted to the unique torture that Gendry seemed to inflict on her.

The storm only grew in intensity as they made their way home and when Gendry parked on the street outside Arya could barely see his front door.

They made a run for it, scrambling out of the truck and through the front door before basically falling into his apartment.

Both of them ended up in a heap on the floor, a laughing mess as they tried to catch their breath. Eventually Gendry pulled himself up and leaned down to pull Arya to her feet and that was when Arya realised that at some point between the bus stop and here her clothes had gotten soaked.

Gendry seemed to notice this fact as his eyes zeroed in on the fabric clinging to her chest. 

“Umm, maybe you should go change?” He made it sound like a question as he averted his eyes and Arya had to fight the urge to laugh. She knew she wasn’t much to look at, especially not in comparison to Sansa or Margaery, but she was almost proud of the light blush that had crept up Gendry’s neck. 

In Gendry’s room she quickly shrugged on an old Direwolves t shirt and, after much deliberation, settled on a clean pair of boxers. She figured it didn’t matter, his shirt was so huge you couldn’t see them anyways.

When she got back she was greeted by the smell of grease and cheese as she spotted a pizza box on the table, only half eaten and she realised she had interrupted his dinner that night.

“Sorry.” He gave her a quizzical look, “for interrupting your dinner.” she added.

He scoffed back at her and shook his head.

“You really think I was bothered about my dinner after you called?” He asked incredulously.

“Well maybe, I just rang you and you could have had plans.” 

“It wouldn’t have mattered. No, hey, look at me Arya.” He commanded after she rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze, “you have to promise me. Promise me that you’ll always call me, no matter when it is or where you are or how stupid you think you might be being. You have to promise to always call me.”

The intensity and severity of his words threw her for a loop. She knew he had been worried and was always protective of her. But the look in his eyes was pleading and he seemed almost scared. 

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” She meant it as well. He would always be the first one she went to. No matter how much she told herself she shouldn’t rely on him for anything, he would be. 

He seemed satisfied and turned back to his pizza, offering her a slice as she sat down. They ate in comfortable silence and Arya didn’t realise how hungry she had been until she finished off three slices and was still looking for more. 

She texted Sansa to make sure she knew where she was and that she was safe from the volatile blizzard outside. 

“So why were you on the bus anyways?” 

“Shopping with Sansa and Margaery for Robb’s rehearsal dinner thingy. Got fed up and left.” Gendry chuckled.

“Figures. Did you actually end up getting anything?”

“I’ll have you know that it was a dress and everything.” She retorted in mock indignation.

“Eesh, I would pay good money to see that.” He winked.

“You don’t have to you’re going too, aren’t you?” 

“Oh shit yeah, when is it again?” 

Arya scoffed and rolled her eyes. Robb had been stressing about anything even remotely to do with the wedding that it had been almost impossible for Gendry to forget, or at least, that’s what she’d thought. 

“In like three days? You better sort your shit out Waters.” That was one thing that had become an unspoken agreement between them.

After Gendry had been told that he was the bastard son of the Robert Baratheon, successful businessman turned Prime Minister, he had been forced to also change his legal name to Baratheon. Arya had called him ‘Baratheon’ once and he had looked so angry and confused that she had never done it again.

“Fuck he’s actually gonna kill me.” 

“Probably.” She agreed, smirking. 

They finished eating soon after and relocated to the sofa where they spent a lot of time bickering over which movie to watch. They settled on The Hunger Games but Arya spent most of the time trying not to notice how close Gendry was to her and the opportunity for intimacy that his proximity allowed.

Foxface had just died when suddenly the screen went black, followed quickly by the lamp. Confused, Gendry reached up to turn the main light on, only to find that that wasn’t working either.

“Fucksake, storm’s caused a blackout.” But Arya was only half listening. She hated blackouts. She wasn’t scared of the dark, nor was she scared of storms. It was the actual idea of a blackout that had her frozen, unable to move.

She hadn’t even realised Gendry had gone until he came back with a torch, candles and a box of matches. 

He set about lighting a few candles before coming to sit back with her again. 

“Power’s out over most of the city and we’re being urged to stay indoors, as if there were any stupid fuckers out in this.” He scoffed, not even glancing up from his phone.

Arya was relieved to find that she could nod back and was no longer frozen with her fear. She was just trying to regulate her breathing when she felt Gendry glance up at her.

It was only for a split second but he was instantly shifting forwards and reaching out to her.

“What’s wrong?” It was a simple question, one she should have been able to answer easily, but she felt as though her reasoning was stupid and irrational. She knew she had nothing to be scared of, especially not with him, but she couldn’t help but think of a similar night to this and how she hadn’t been scared at first then either.

Apparently she didn’t need to find the words as she watched the realisation appear in his eyes. 

Involuntarily, she flinched as he continued to reach for, and he withdrew his hand. She felt almost guilty as the hurt crept into his eyes but couldn’t bring herself to care at this moment.

“Sorry,” she murmured, letting her gaze fall to the floor.

“No, listen to me, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, you hear me? It was my fault, I wasn’t even thinking and I didn’t realise.” 

She nodded, still trying to get her breathing back under control. Nothing was working and her breath was coming out in short, sharp gasps.

“What do you need?”

Honestly, she didn’t know. That was the scary part. She had no clue how to slow the panic threatening to consume her, no matter how irrational she felt it was. 

“I - I - I don’t - I don’t know,” she was shaking now and that did nothing to keep her panic at bay.

She hated this. Arya Stark was not weak. She was strong, controlled and rational. So why was she still sat panicking when she knew that she was perfectly safe?

Gendry was watching her carefully, the concern in his eyes unmistakable. She knew he would never hurt her, would rather hurt himself before even considering it. 

She kept telling herself this as she gave him a slight nod. He understood it immediately, as she knew he would. 

Gendry kept his movements slow and steady as he shuffled towards her, keeping a careful eye on her face. The second he touched her she tensed up again, but he kept moving slowly until she was encircled in his arms. 

Neither knows how long they stayed like that, her tense and shaking and him holding her and whispering comforting words in her ear, but it seemed like hours until she regained full control of her breathing and allowed herself to relax back into him. 

Sensing the change Gendry began to speak, 

“Are you okay?” he asked, fully aware that it was a stupid question but not knowing what else to say.

Arya nodded, trying to discreetly wipe the tears from her eyes without Gendry noticing. She did not succeed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

Arya knew that she should talk about it, especially with someone as understanding and supportive as Gendry but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.

Truth be told she was embarrassed that an incident long in the past still had this much control over her. It was like every time there was a blackout she lost all self control.

She knew that it was expected, after all she was assaulted by someone she trusted, her boyfriend no less, but that didn’t stop her from feeling pathetic about having panic attacks over something that happened almost two years ago. 

Understanding, Gendry shifted back slightly so that he supported Arya’s full weight against his chest and let his head rest on hers.

Although she knew it was unfair to herself, to give herself a tiny glimpse of what it would be like to be with Gendry and be able to cuddle like this whenever she wanted, she allowed herself to be held in his arms. 

The steady rise and fall of his chest paired with his deep, even breaths slowly lulled her to sleep, encircled in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> So how did you like it? Kudos and comments are welcomed, as well as any advice or constructive criticism.


End file.
